Jonathan Series

November 26, 2022

We know virtually nothing about Jonathan. He was the oldest son of Saul and Ahinoam and next in line for the throne of Israel. The Bible does not tell us if he was married, but we are told that he had a son, Mephibosheth, who was 5 years old when Jonathen was killed on Mt. Gilboa fighting the Philistines – 2 Samuel 4:4.

We know he was well loved – 1 Samuel 14:24-45.

We know that he was much older than David – 20 years at least.

• Saul was 30 when he became king and reigned for 42 years = 72 years old when he was killed.

• David was 30 when he became king, which means Saul had already reigned for 12 years when David was born. By that time Jonathan was already a commander in Saul’s army.

• By the time David – under 20 – fought Goliath, Saul had reigned in Israel for between 30-32 years, making Jonathan potentially 40+ years old.

Jonathan was going to be the next king – until Saul’s disastrous choices and Yahweh’s declaration that Saul’s kingdom would come to an end.

With that, Jonathan became an heir with nothing to inherit. This fact is what makes his story truly extraordinary.

The unwritten rule of Monarchy was you eliminated anyone who might stand between you and the throne. I mean, anyone, including your own kin, if necessary. History is full of such stories:

• Abimelech, son of Gideon, employed assassins to help him eliminate his 70 brothers, who stood in his way.

• Herod the Great murdered his own sons because he thought they were a threat to his rule.

• Richard III had his nephews imprisoned in the Tower of London and may have ordered their executions in order to maintain his claim the throne of England.

A shepherd boy with some killer sling skills was definitely a potential threat and yet after David’s victory over Goliath, scripture tells us that Jonathan loved David and made a covenant – the 1st of 3 – with him.

Jonathan, the heir-apparent to the Israelite throne, recognized that David was going to be the next king and he put himself in the lower position within this covenant relationship – 1 Samuel 18:1-4.

Amazing!! Talk about humility and bending to the authority and will of God. What a stark contrast between Jonathan and Saul.

When we left David last week, he was in hiding with Samuel.

Previously, Jonathan had successfully interceded with Saul on David’s behalf, so David went to find Jonathan:

David: What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?

Jonathan: What are you talking about? My father doesn’t do anything without telling me about it, so why would he hide this from me?

David: Your father knows that we’re friends. He wants to avoid conflict with you so is not telling you of his plans concerning me. But as surely as Yahweh lives and you have breath in your lungs, your father is trying to kill me.

Jonathan: What do you want me to do?

David: I am supposed to be at the New Moon Festival. If your father misses me, tell him that I asked you for permission to go spend some time with my family in Bethlehem. If he says ‘Fine, no problem,’ it means all is well. However…. If he gets angry, you will know that he intends to kill me. Deal kindly with me because of our covenant before Yahweh. If I am guilty, then kill me now, but don’t take me to your father.

Jonathan: I would never! Don’t you think that if I knew my father intended to kill you, I’d tell you?.... As Yahweh is my witness, I will talk to my father. If he has positive feelings toward you, I will get a message to you. May Yahweh punish me if I discover my father intends to kill you and I don’t give you a warning so that you can escape. May Yahweh be with you, as he was with my father. Show me unfailing kindness as long as I live and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family -- not even when Yahweh has cut off every one of your enemies from the face of the earth {Covenant #2 – again Jonathan puts David in the position of power within the covenant}. Remain beside the stone of Ezel. In 3 days I will come back and pretend I am target shooting. I will shoot 3 arrows and then I will tell my servant to go retrieve them. If I say, ‘The arrows are to your side’ it means all is well. But if I say, ‘The arrows are beyond you,’ Yahweh has sent you away. Yahweh is between you and me forever.